The following parts are needed if you are going to replace all of the hardware. We replaced everything so we did not have to disassemble the stock strut-spring units. Less time with the spring compressor is better, it will save time, and increase safety margins by using new hardware. The quantity listed is for both the left and right strut-This is the total amount you will need for the job and the price is the list price per item. From here on, I will refer to each by their name from the BMW EPC. Please note that many of the bolts, nuts and washers you remove to get the strut out are one use only (i.e. replace on installation of new strut). I highly recommend that you go ahead and buy these parts.

Begin by driving the front end of your car up onto ramps. Loosen the lug bolts on the wheels and jack the car up and place on jack stands. Remove the front wheels. You will now be looking at the front struts:

Begin by putting one of the lug bolts back in and tightening about half way. Use a very sturdy rope or wire to loop around the lug bolt and find a stationary place in the engine bay for the other end. I used the engine lift point that is towards the front of the engine in the center. The towel in the picture is merely to prevent any damage to car from the rope. This will help hold the weight of the brake/wheel while working:

Disconnect the brake lines that are attached to hangers on the strut (3 on the car side of the driverís side-2 on the passenger side and the lines toward the outside of the car).

Now that the brake/wheel is secure, loosen and remove the 2 Hex Bolts with Washers (there is one on the other side of the strut not visible) as well as the Fit Bolt and Self Locking Hex Nut #2 (The nut is shown with the boltís head on the other side of the strut).

Once these are removed, loosen the Self Locking Collar nuts in the engine bay (they are located on the top of the Strut Towers-3 per side).

It is now time to remove the strut. I found that by lowering the strut down and towards the front of the car allowed the top of the strut to come out of the wheel well. The rest of the strut was easily removed. Be cautious of the brake lines throughout this step.